Flying target



(No Model.)

' N. FISCHER.

y FLYING TARGET. No. 281,183. Patented July 1 0, 1883.

fV HAB 1 f in the air.

UNITED. STATES ,Pariiiwrg Oriucnc NICHOLAS FISCHER, OFOINCINNATI, OHIO.

FLYING TARGET.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters .Patent No. 281,183, dated July 10,1883.

Application filed May S29, 1983. (No modeLl To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICHOLAS FISCHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Flying Targets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to flying targets, sometimes called clay pigeons,designed to be projected into the air by suitably-constructed mechanismand used as a mark for shooting practice. Such targets are made inshallowdish form, of burned clay or other fragile material, and arethrown into the air in an approximately horizontal position, and a rapidaxial rotation at the same time imparted to them by the sendingmechanism. It will be obvious that it is desirable that suoli targetsshould be made of as light aweight as possible and free from any featureof construction of fering an impediment to rotation while in the air.

As heretofore constructed, such targets have been of dish form, with aradial tang or pro- `iection, either formed as part of the target or ofother material attached thereto, or with a slot or opening in theperipheral flange for engagement with the throwing-arm of the sendingmechanism. By the mechanism usually employed, the sending force was thusapplied by such tang or slot to the peripheral dange in such manner asto require special 'strength` ening of the flange, either by thickeningor providing the same with a strengtheningfillet, or by other specialdevices, thereby adding unduly to the weight and creating impediments tothe proper sending and rotation of the target, and impairing the freedomand proper movement while in its flying course Moreover, these featuresof construction form a serious addition to the cost, which it isdesirable to avoid in view of their necessary destruction in the using.

My invention obviates all these difficulties; and it consists in theconstruction of a target of plain, cylindrical, or dish form, withouttang, slot, lillet, or thickening of any part, and generally lighter in'construction than those now in use, it being intended to throw-this'target by means of a swinging arm provided with a resistingguideway,whereby the target is projected into the air by centrifugal force, andthe rotation imparted to it by the resistance of the guideway actingcentripetally upon the target from without, the force being thus appliedin a direction and in a manner enabling the thinnest and lightest shelltarget to be freely used, and thereby securing a perfectmovement in theair when projected from the trap, and the minimum of cost in production.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a per Spective view of my 4improved target; Fig. 2, a planview of the same in position within the containing-case of thethrowing-arm, and Fig. 3 a cross-sectional view of the saine within thecontaining-case.

A in the drawings designates the target, which is simply a shallowcylindrical cup hav ing preferably a concave bottom convex without. Thetarget being of this form, with a plain cylindrical periphery, withouttongue or slot, or any device to be attached as a handie for the purposeof throwing the same, may be quickly and easily molded or formed uponthe end of a rotating mandrel; and for ornamental purposes the outersurface may be ribbed and grooved or varied in contour without departingfrom the cylindrical cup form, and may be made as thin a shell as thematerial will admit.

The swinging arm C, attached tothe trap, is

`provided at the end with a case, B, or box,

forming a receptacle for the target A. The case B is open at one side,Z1, and the adjacent side is provided with or constitutes a guideway, b,adapted to the external periphery of the target A. It is preferable toform the guideway flat and with a flange, b2, projecting forward overthe edge of the target, as shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in the drawings, the guideway b occupies a position inclinedabout forty-five degrees to the arm C, and the latter, being actuated asa radius, revolves in the plane of the circumference about the center.It will be apparent that, under the induence of centrifugal force, thetarget will be impelled against the guideway, and also outward throughthe open end b of the containing-case. Ihe resisting friction of theguideway will produce a rolling motion of the target exactlyproportioned to the force impellin'g it outward, and the bottom t of thecontaining-case and the guideway Zi and flange b2 together perfectlyguide the target ICO until it leaves the case, so that when impened intothe air a rapid rotary motion is imparted to it, which enables it tomaintain its proper inclination to the horizon, as determined by theproper adjustment of the case B.

It will be also observed that the strains upon the target itself, bothin throwing it and in imparting its rotary motion, are deliveredcentripetally in the direction of its greatest rcsistingepower at aconstantly-shifting point, as in the case of a rolling Wheel; hence thethinnest shell that can be made will, by its form and the relation ofthe propelling force, be of sufficient strength to resist breakage inpropulsion.

By reason ofthe construction thus described, the target may be propelledmuch farther into the air, is enabled to maintain itself much longer iuflight, and is not so subject to the action of gravity, but is moreperfectly controlled by the gyratory forces, and is, indeed, in vallrespects essentially improved in cost, construction, and eii'iciency inuse.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Acylindrical cup-shaped ying ltarget formed as a thin shell of clay orsimilar mate rial, suitably hardened, Without slot, tongue, orprojection, substantially as and for the purpose specified, as a newarticle of manufacture.

2. A cylindrical cup-shaped flying target, A, having a peripheral flangeof uniform thick ness circumferentially, and without slot or tongue, orprovision forthe attachment of a vtongue or handle for propulsion, orwhich might constitute an impediment to the axial rotation ofthe target,substantially as specified.

In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of tWosubscribing Witnesses.

NICHOLAS FISCHER.

v Witnesses:

L. M. HosEA', l -A'Lninv HAMILTON.

